The Bugle Blast

By Dylan McDonough

The Bugle Blast had the privilege of interviewing the owner of Hart Tree Farm, Tom Hart. Here is what we learned.

The most popular Christmas tree variety is the Frasier Fir because of its stiff branches that hold ornaments well and because of excellent needle retention. The least popular is the Blue Spruce. It’s rather prickly and the needle retention isn’t as good.

The Hart Farm ships trees locally as well as to Indianapolis, Chicago and Missouri. Next time you see trees for sale under a tent in a parking lot, they might just be from Hart Tree Farm!

You might think that owning a Christmas Tree Farm means you only work in December. I learned that they work year round. They’re as busy in the spring as they are right before Christmas. In the spring they prepare the land, plant and fertilize. With backpacks they use 10 tons of fertilizer and put it around each tree by hand. In fact, 80% of the work done of the farm is by hand.

In the summer they mostly focus on weed and insect control. There are many types of insects to control and it depends on the tree variety. Some common pests are aphids, mites and the white pine weevil.

In the fall they prepare the equipment and tag trees for cutting. In autumn some pine trees turn yellow. They will spray them with an environmentally safe latex that helps the needles to retain moisture. They are still on weed control duty with weed whips. They also trim trees so that they’ll be denser.

The busiest weekends are the weekend of Thanksgiving and the weekend after Thanksgiving. When Mr. Hart was younger, the busiest weekends were the second and third weekend after Thanksgiving.

They take a small break after Christmas but work begins again in the winter with shearing.

So how did the Tree Farm begin? Mr. Hart’s grandfather worked in a furniture factory. During the Great Depression, he realized the importance of owning land.

He purchased 40 acres of hilly, sandy land on the western side of Young Avenue in Rockford. He had animals on his land. In 1949 the land, now 80 acres on both sides of Young Avenue, was for sale. His son was a carpenter but decided to purchase the 80 acres for $7,000. Back then from November 1st through Spring, a carpenter didn’t work. So, as a hobby, he started a tree farm. The first batch of 2,000 trees were ruined by the weevil. He chopped them all down with an axe. The next batch of trees he wholesaled to someone who wrote him a bad check. Did he give up? No! Neighbors started to ask if they could come and cut a tree for Christmas. Little by little, the word spread that this was the place to get a fine Christmas tree. Now his son, Mr. Tom Hart runs the farm with 80,000 trees and over 10 varieties.

If you want to start a Christmas tree farm, remember the perseverance of Mr. Hart’s father. Also be aware that it takes a pinecone around 9-12 years to become a full-sized Christmas tree.

Why should you purchase your Christmas tree from Hart Tree Farm? Mr. Hart strives for great quality. They also make an entire experience out of picking out your Christmas tree. They have wagon rides on the weekends and help you pick out a great tree to cut down. They also have pre-cut trees for sale.

What do you do with a tree after Christmas? Well, unlike plastic trees, real trees are biodegradable. You can put them on your back deck for the birds in the winter or put your tree in the lake as a habitat for fish.

This year my family will be getting our tree from Hart Tree Farm, and probably every year after that! I hope you’ll support Mr. Hart’s awesome tree farm too!